A GOOD SAMARITAN stranger who changed a broken radiator hose enabled bush trainer Paul Hodge to reach Wentworth Park with minutes to spare and allow Begonia Gypsy to win first-up at the track last Monday night.
Hodge, whose family own the Station Hotel at Eugowra, has 150 greyhounds on his property at Gooloogong, a small village mid-way between Cowra and FORBES in the NSW Central West.
His first ever trip to Wentworth Park last Monday was certainly an adventure, although Begonia Gypsy, bought recently for a mere $200, gave the story a happy ending.
“I was driving through the Blue Mountains in my old Holden when it broke down,’ Hodge explained.
“I had left home at 10am so thought I was giving myself plenty of time but finished up arriving at Wentworth Park at 5.40pm, just making kennelling.
“But I would not have got there only for a wonderful bloke who noticed me broken down outside his house, somewhere in the Blue Mountains.
“He took a look at my car’s engine and said he had a radiator hose in his shed which he thought would fix the problem.
“He put it on, filled the car with water, and away we went.
“I bought Begonia Gypsy for $200 in January and she had a fifth, a second and a third for me before tonight.
“But she badly needs 720 metres and there are no long distance races available at my local tracks.
“I wasn’t confident though after all the drama because while we were broken down Begonia Gypsy was barking her head off at all the cars whizzing past us.
“She had never seen traffic before in her life so I phoned my wife and told her to tell all our friends not to back her.
“But luckily they took no notice and with just about everyone in our hotel putting their money on Begonia Gypsy.
"There wasn’t enough cash to pay out immediately from our Pub Tab.’’
Although Begonia Gypsy took a pedestrian 43.24 to win on Monday, she had never seen Wentworth Park and overcame a tricky wide box eight draw before powering home along the rails from third on the back straight.
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Zulu Mystique will tackle the group two PPK Group 2 Maitland Gold Cup heats on April 10 following her impressive all-the-way win in Thursday’s 400m Supporters’ Club Gold Collar at that track.
Zulu Mystique posted a brilliant 22.32 on Thursday and although the Cup is 50m longer and will attract an even stronger field trainer Frank Sanotti believes his front running bitch deserves her chance at the big race.
“She is beginning fast like she used to and loves Maitland so she has to be in it,’’ Sanotti said.
“I thought there would be faster dogs in the Gold Collar but when you are out in front you are always in with a good chance and the same applies to the Gold Cup.
“Zulu Mystique was sidelined for six weeks from early January due to a stress fracture in a hind leg metacarpal bone so has really only just got back to the track.
“I gave her plenty of time to get over the fracture because when it is in a hind leg it is worse injury.’’
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Owner-trainer Chris Cathcart paid tribute to his greyhound racing “mentor’ Len Polidano after She’s Boom Browz gave him his first city winner at Wentworth Park last Monday night.
She’s Boom Browz, who was bred and reared by Cathcart on his property at Llandilo, took her recent record to two wins and three placings from her past five starts when she scored by four lengths in 30.33.
“I couldn’t have achieved this without all the advice I’ve been given by Len Polidano,’’ Cathcart said.
Polidano, a fencing contractor who trains greyhounds as a hobby, has had fairly recent wins with Swip Nitro and Decastella at Wentworth Park but enjoyed his greatest success with Surfy’s Son in the late 1970s.
That dog won four races at Wentworth Park and took out a major final at Richmond in 1978.
